


Five Times Billy Carried Freddy

by mozbee



Category: Shazam! (2019)
Genre: Angst (eventually), Five Plus One, Humour, Hurt/Comfort (eventually), On Hiatus 6/8/19, Other tags to be added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-23
Updated: 2019-05-01
Packaged: 2020-01-24 09:39:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18568753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mozbee/pseuds/mozbee
Summary: ...and one time Freddy carried him.





	1. Chapter 1

(i)

 

Freddy cursed as his crutch slipped on the ice, wincing when his leg twisted. “Oh, look at the little cripple kid trying to walk down the road, hahaha, it’s like the circus came to town,” he muttered under his breath. “Let’s not help him or anything, it might be contagious.” He tried to find his footing but this time, his right leg went out from under him. He caught himself before he could faceplant, sweating from the exertion and frustration. “ _Fuck_ ,” he said under his breath when he saw how much further he had to go down the road that was literally a sheet of ice.

 

He debated sitting down and waiting for the ice to melt. It might take a few weeks but it wasn’t like he would hate to miss school. He was pretty sure Rosa would bring him meals here. The people walking down the street had the all-too-familiar look on their faces, where they were trying not to see him and thinking they were doing him a favour. Freddy _hated_ that look. Almost as much as he hated when someone actually stopped to offer help.

 

Suddenly everyone was holding their phones out and aiming them at the sky, chattering excitedly. Freddy brushed a sweaty lock of hair off his forehead and managed to straighten up, dreading his next step.

 

“Citizen!” Freddy startled at the booming voice and turned. Billy was diving out of the sky, heading straight for him. “Captain Sparklefingers needs you! Will you aid me?”

 

Freddy stared at his incoming friend. “Dude, what—hey!” Billy scooped Freddy up and arced back into the sky. Freddy shivered when an icy blast of wind met them, and he pressed closer to Billy.

 

“Hey!” he shouted, grinning up at him. He pressed his hands against the lightning bolt on Billy’s chest. “It’s warm!” He pushed his cheek against it and sighed. They landed in the park near their house, Billy setting Freddy down carefully. He immediately touched the lightning bolt and frowned.

 

“It’s not warm!” he said accusingly. Freddy frowned and put his hand back on it, arcs of lightning leaping eagerly to his fingers.

 

“Dude, feel my hand,” he said, tugging it away and holding it up to Billy. Billy grabbed it and looked confused.

 

“I dunno, it doesn’t feel warm or cold to me. It just feels like a hand.” He shrugged. Freddy leaned back, considering.

 

“Do you feel cold right now?” Billy shook his head. “Huh. I need to try something.” He limped over to a large oak and slipped behind it after a subtle glance around. “Shazam!” He strode back out to Billy and held his arms out at his side. “I’m not cold anymore, either.” He looked down at himself appreciatively. “I guess it’s like being fireproof or having bullet immunity; it’s not the suits, it’s us.” He touched his own blazing lightning bolt. “It’s not warm to me,” he said, bewildered. “Let me touch yours again.”

 

“I wanna feel yours!” Billy said. They patted each other’s chest when a voice interrupted them.

 

“Uh, Red Cyclone? O-other dude?” They both looked up to see a man standing watching them. “What…what are you doing?”

 

They jumped back from each other as if electrocuted. “Superhero handshake,” Freddy said at the same time that Billy blurted “checking for ticks!” Freddy glared at him, mouthed _what??_ Billy shrugged, eyes wide. The man didn’t look convinced.

 

“Uh-huh,” he said and slowly backed away. Billy gave him a cheery wave. Freddy smacked his hand out of the air.

 

“Dude, could you be any creepier?”

 

The next day at breakfast Billy spat out his cereal when Mary dropped the newspaper on the table in front of him. She snickered at the look on his face, and Freddy curiously tugged the front page over to see what they were on about. His jaw dropped when he read the headline.

 

_Red Cyclone Suspected in Child Abduction._

 

There was a picture of Billy and Freddy in the park with their hands on each other’s chests, Billy frowning and Freddy looking excited. Freddy bit his lip and looked at Billy, who was sitting in his chair looking like a cat had just given birth in front of him. He couldn’t help it; he burst out laughing, ignoring the murderous look Billy threw him.

 

“Dude, this is your own fault,” Freddy wheezed. “If you hadn’t swooped outta the sky and grabbed me like some hopped-up pedophile, this wouldn’t be an issue.”

 

“How am I supposed to help people if they all think I’m a criminal?” Billy demanded. Mary shrugged, leaning against the counter, sipping from her mug.

 

“Well, you stole Freddy, right? So, bring him back.” Billy stood and jabbed a finger at Freddy.

 

“Right now. Let’s go.”

 

“But my bagel—” Freddy’s protest fell on deaf ears as Billy hauled him to his feet, thrusting his crutch at him.

 

“You can eat when you’ve been _found_.”

 

So it was that Freddy was once again held close against Billy’s chest, keeping his hands warm on the lightning bolt on his suit, and soaring through the sky to the police station. They were noticed quickly by passersby on the street, and a few officers wandered out when Billy landed on the steps out front of the station, carefully setting Freddy down.

 

“Well!” he said, looking awkward. He’d refused to brainstorm a reason with Freddy as to why he had ‘kidnapped’ him, too busy sulking, and now that they were here, Freddy could tell he regretted that. “Thank you, young man, for your help with that…mission. I don’t know what I would have done without your help with…that.” His eyes bugged out at Freddy, begging him to take over.

 

Freddy sighed. “It was the coolest experience of my life, Captain Sparklefingers,” he intoned. He twirled his right hand above his head. “Yee-haw.”

 

“Are you all right, son?” asked an officer, moving forward, giving Billy a wary look. He looked at Freddy’s leaning on the crutch, and crouched close, asking in a low voice, “did he do that to you?”

 

Billy’s jaw dropped in outrage and Freddy had to fight back a laugh. “N-no sir, he didn’t.” His expression turned mournful. “You see, I have terminal cancer…”

 

 _Oh my god_ , Billy mouthed, covering his eyes with one broad hand as Freddy was surrounded by the sympathetic crowd.

 

“And you kept him from his doctors? From medical care?” a woman demanded of Billy, hands on her hips. Billy looked thunderstruck, his mouth gaping. He looked helplessly at Freddy.

 

“I have none of that,” Freddy said sadly. “There’s nothing they can do for me at this point.” The woman’s eyes watered and she covered her mouth with one gloved hand.

 

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered. Freddy shrugged, giving her a small smile.

 

“It’s okay,” he told her. “I’ve learned to keep my chin up and—” his stomach growled loudly.

 

“Are you hungry, son?” a cop asked, moving forward. Freddy nodded eagerly.

 

“Starving! I didn’t get to eat this morning, so I—”

 

An old woman smacked Billy on the back of his head with her purse. “You didn’t feed the dying boy?” she screeched. Billy winced and backed away from her.

 

“No! I mean, I had to bring him back, so—”

 

“Come with me, son,” said the officer who had approached Freddy. “We’ve got doughnuts inside the station. Help yourself while we call your parents and get this sorted out.” The crowd broke out into applause.

 

“The police are the _real_ heroes,” Freddy heard someone say appreciatively as he was led inside.

 

“Okay,” Billy called from outside before the doors closed. “I’ll just…yeah,” and he flew off, dodging a wild umbrella swing from that same old woman. Freddy beamed at the officer who sat him down in an armchair and brought a box of doughnuts over.

 

“What would you like to drink, son? We have milk or apple juice.”

 

“Juice please,” Freddy said through a mouthful of heavenly éclair. This was so much better than that bagel he had been chewing on at home. The officer nodded.

 

“I’ll be right back with that, and then we’ll call your parents, all right?” Freddy nodded and crammed a small honey doughnut in his mouth. He stopped chewing, mouth bulging.

 

“M’ prents?”

 

The officer nodded, smiling down at him. “I’m sure they’ll be very relieved to get you home.” He strode off down the hall, leaving Freddy in the bustling lobby.

 

_He’s going to call my parents._

_That means Victor and Rosa._

_That means they’re going to find out I said I have cancer._

_That means they’re going to kick my—_

“I need the bathroom!” Freddy yelled. He stood, icing sugar falling from his lap. “Miss police officer?” he waved down a female officer passing by. “Can you tell me where the bathroom is, please?”

 

“Just go past the break room,” she pointed. Freddy nodded and hurried down the hall, slipping into the bathroom. He went to the end of the room, closest to the window that stretched over the sinks, glancing at the stalls to make sure they were empty. He leaned as close to the window as he could and shoved it open, hoping for some sort of aim.

 

“Shazam,” he said meekly, screwing his eyes shut. Beyond his eyelids, the lights in the station flickered. He heard the hand dryer turn on and with an angry hum, pop and fizzle. The bathroom was quiet. He opened his eyes and heaved a great sigh of relief when he saw his plan had worked. The lightning struck through the open window, so now the only physical proof something had happened was…the entire station being without power.

 

 _Oh crap, what about the cell doors? Are they gonna open?_ Freddy panicked, envisioning the small jail in the basement of the station being overrun by criminals busting out past their powerless cell doors. Abruptly the emergency lights came on, and the bathroom was dimly lit. He let out the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, grabbed his crutch, and flew out the window, hunching his shoulders in as he went out the narrow exit.

 

Unbeknownst to Freddy, Billy Batson was running into the police station through the front doors at that moment and came across the officer who had bribed Freddy with doughnuts, standing in the lobby of swarming people, looking around.

 

“Officer!” Billy hurried over, making a show of catching his breath. He looked down at Billy.

 

“Can it wait a minute, son? I’m trying to find—”

 

“I just brought my brother out to our parents,” Billy panted. The officer frowned.

 

"Your brother?"

 

"Yeah, the kid with the doughnuts and the...cancer..." he cleared his throat. "We heard about him being here so came right over."

 

“I’d better go talk to them, get some things sorted out—”

 

“No!” Billy blurted. “Uh, they already left. My brother, he wasn’t feeling so good and they wanted to get him home, uh, to the doctor right away.”

 

“Oh,” the officer said. He stared down at Billy, features hard to make out under the emergency lights. “And they left you here?”

 

Billy froze. _Why would they leave me—_ his eyes fell on the box of doughnuts abandoned on the armchair. “They wanted to see if I could bring him the rest of the doughnuts! He said they made him feel a lot better so we thought maybe I could take the rest to the…hospital, where they went.”

 

The officer’s eyes misted over and he shoved the box at Billy. “You take them all,” he said, clearing his throat roughly. Billy smiled and nodded in thanks, and turned to go. “Wait!” He stopped, tense. A bottle of juice was placed on top of the box. “Bring him that, too,” the officer said. “Such a brave boy, fighting cancer, escaping from that red menace—”

 

“He didn’t _escape_ ,” Billy said through gritted teeth. “He wasn’t abducted in the first place.” The officer just shook his head and walked away, still muttering to himself. Billy rolled his eyes and hurried back out the front doors, glancing surreptitiously up and around for Freddy. He jogged to the back of the police station, saw the coast was clear and changed. “Shazam!”

 

Freddy watched Billy fly up and he waved his arms. “Billy!” Billy turned and saw him sitting on the roof of the police station and flew towards him.

 

“What the hell, Freddy?” Billy said, landing next to him and glaring. “I didn’t realize your price was _doughnuts._ ” Freddy shrugged and snatched the box from Billy, picking out a jam-filled pastry. 

 

“You dragged me out of the house before I was done breakfast to fix your mistake, so,” he paused and bit into the doughnut, groaning when a burst of heavenly sweet strawberry coated his tongue. He chewed in rapt delight for a minute, eyes closed, savouring the taste, and slit one eye open to see Billy watching him, hands on his hips. Freddy sighed. “Okay,” he said after swallowing, “can I have the juice please?”

 

“Freddy!”

 

He snickered at Billy’s outraged tone. “Look, it was _funny_. Everyone thinks you stole a kid, and then badly brought him back. You got beat on by an old lady, and I got to make up for the breakfast you made me miss. I think everyone won here.” Billy didn’t look convinced. Freddy looked in the box of remaining doughnuts and sighed, then held them out. “Why don’t you take these? They’ll help.”

 

“I don’t want—” Billy cut off as Freddy jammed a chocolate doughnut in his mouth. “Omigawd,” Billy said, eyes wide as he chewed. He pointed at his mouth. “Disses amazhing.”

 

“See?” Freddy crowed. He shoved the box into Billy’s arms. “You finish them. I’m gonna find somewhere to puke cause I just ate four in less than a minute.” He took off and was gone in a flash. Billy chewed his way through the doughnut, enjoying every second of it, and swallowed mightily.

 

“Hey,” he said, belatedly noticing Freddy’s crutch on the roof. He grabbed it and tucked it under his arm and hovered up, floating away slowly, looking through the rest of the doughnuts in the box. He had just started across the street, cape brushing against the top of a street lamp, when he heard a shout from below.

 

“He stole that kid’s doughnuts!”

 

“What?” Billy looked down, a honey pastry halfway to his mouth. The officer from inside the station was glaring up at him. “Oh!” he gasped. “Oh nononono, it’s not what it looks like—”

 

The old woman who had clocked him with her purse squinted up at him. “He took his crutch, too!” Billy looked at the crutch under his arm. He looked at the box in his hands. He looked down at the crowd who glared up at him.

 

He barely dodged the umbrella thrown his way as he took off.


	2. Chapter 2

(ii)

 

Freddy dropped in his seat, letting his crutch clatter to the floor. He subtly watched the rest of the class filter in in groups of two or three. Everyone had a friend in class. Except him. He flipped open his notebook and drew more of the scene from lunch, of Shazam lassoing a kid, laughing evilly. Freddy didn’t care what Billy said; it was _funny_ that people thought he had kidnapped Freddy.

 

Someone nudged his shoulder and Freddy instinctively muttered “fuck off.” Every new semester meant new people to ignore in class, and he started it off on a strong note, cussing them out so they’d know right away that just because he was easy to push over, he was _not_ a pushover.

 

“Hey,” said an indignant voice. Freddy frowned and looked up to see Billy standing next to his table. Drama didn’t have desks arranged in rows; it was a handful of round tables scattered around the room, each with space for five or six students depending on how crowded you wanted to be with your friends. Freddy always had a table to himself.

 

“Billy? What are you do—” he stopped when Billy pulled out the chair two down from him and tugged a copy of ‘Dramatic Theory’ from his backpack and slapped it on the table. Freddy looked from the book to Billy and back. “You’re taking drama?” he addressed the textbook.

 

“Yeah,” Billy replied, digging around in his bag for a pen. He looked back up at Freddy. “Do we even take notes in this class?”

 

Freddy shrugged. “Sometimes. Depends what unit we’re working on. Ms. Rawthorne prefers what she calls a ‘visceral learning experience’,” Freddy grinned. “It’s pretty cool. Sometimes she hands out tests and makes us rip them up as a demonstration against the expected obedience of everyday life.”

 

Billy blinked at him. “Oh,” was all he said.

 

“You either love drama or hate it,” Freddy shrugged. He was one of the ones who _loved_ it. In drama, it didn’t matter that he couldn’t walk without a crutch. It didn’t matter that he was always the odd one out. In drama, he fit right in with the world unseen, with the tragic heroes and villains. He could step into a role, act out a scene, and no one saw crippled Freddy Freeman. They saw Hamlet. They saw Jem Finch. Ebenezer Scrooge.

 

So, yes, Freddy loves drama. He lives for it. Because to him, it’s not just a class.

 

It’s an escape.

-

-

-

“Rewrite a scene no longer than three minutes from your assigned topic for the modern age,” Billy read from their notes. He made a face at the paper. “Frankenstein?”

 

“Yeah but not like the one we watched last week,” Freddy nodded. Billy scrunched up his face in thought. “Remember, the Gene Wilder one we watched with everyone? That was a parody. We need the actual Frankenstein.”

 

“Oh, yeah…”

 

“Yeah, you fell asleep right when they were meeting Frau Blucher,” Freddy sighed. He gave Billy a pointed look. “Cause you stayed out all night again.”

 

Billy shrugged, staring down at his notebook. “There was a lot going on,” he mumbled.

 

“Yeah, but Billy, you can’t be out as _him_ all the time,” Freddy hissed, casting a quick glance at their closed bedroom door as if expecting to see Victor or Rosa with their face pressed to the keyhole. “Just cause we don’t get tired as them doesn’t mean our meaty mortal bodies don’t need sleep every now and then.”

 

“It’s fine,” Billy said, an edge in his voice. “Let’s just do this so we don’t have to spend all weekend on it.”

 

Freddy rolled his eyes but dropped it. Billy had been funny the last few days, going out to patrol with fierce regularity, staying out ‘til dawn and coming home to drop in bed for an hour’s sleep before school. And he refused to watch tv anymore, something they used to do together, picking stupid reality shows and making fun of the people on them. ( _“What’s the matter Freddy? I thought you_ liked _drama,” Billy teased. Freddy rolled his eyes and changed the channel. “This isn’t drama. It’s just dramatic.”_ ) But Billy had stopped wanting to watch it so Freddy changed his routine too.

 

He’s not being clingy. He’s being a good brother.

 

“All right, so what scene should we do?” Freddy asked. “Rawthorne _lives_ for tragedy, by the way.” He’d read Frankenstein. Once. He flipped through the excerpts of pages Ms. Rawthorne had given them as suggestions, to help them narrow their options down.

 

“Well, if she likes tragedy, why not when the monster murders Elizabeth?” Billy said, holding a sheet out to Freddy. Freddy nodded, taking the paper and skimming through it.

 

“All right, that can work. And maybe this time I’ll do better than Lisa and Joy,” he muttered. Billy frowned.

 

“Which ones are they?”

 

“The two bit-- girls with their noses up Rawthorne’s butt,” Freddy said. Billy snorted.

 

“Oh, those two.”

 

Freddy nodded. “Yeah, they decided they have a rivalry with me ever since I got better marks than them on our ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ act.” Billy brightened.

 

“I read that! What was the act?”

 

Freddy fought down a blush. “Uh, well, I’m smaller than most kids our age, right?” Billy looked confused. “It’s okay, I know I am, you don’t have to—anyway, last year I was grouped with Lisa and Joy for our scene and they made me play… Scout. And the whole scene was me as Scout and them as Jem and Dill talking about Boo Radley and I kind of threw my own thing in there, like improv, and they thought I ruined it for us all but Rawthorne like, teared up. So,” he shrugged, “Lisa and Joy got pissed cause I got better marks.”

 

Billy looked curious. “What did you say?”

 

Freddy huffed out a breath. “It’s not like I can remember word-for-word—okay yes I can,” he said with a grin. “You…you really wanna hear it?” Billy nodded and Freddy straightened up. He took a moment, closing his eyes, sinking back into the mindset of a seven-year-old girl with more ease than he’d like to admit to, and spoke. “Atticus told us we need to stand in another man’s shoes and walk around in them. Alls I did was stand on the Radley’s porch an’ that was enough. Boo is as human as you or me, an’ it don’t matter what he looks like, so long as he acts right! And he does, he does act right, but you still make fun of him and make him out to be a monster just cause he looks different.” Freddy opened his eyes and saw Billy staring at him. “Sorry, I didn’t realize the Alabama accent would happen,” he said awkwardly.

 

Billy shook his head. “That’s…” he trailed off. The silence stretched out and Freddy found himself wishing he hadn’t shared what he did. It was weird, right?

 

“So,” he said loudly, rolling a pencil across his desk incessantly, “how are we going to modernize this?”

-

-

-

“Fuck,” Freddy swore under his breath. He tapped a nervous rhythm on his thigh, feeling unsettled.

 

“What?” Billy muttered, glancing at Freddy and back to where Lisa and Joy were performing their scene from ‘West Side Story’.

 

Freddy jerked his head towards their drama teacher. “Rawthorne has been chewing on her pen for like, thirty seconds.” Billy stared uncomprehendingly. Freddy smacked his arm. “That means she _likes_ it.”

 

“Oh.” Billy didn’t look worried. “That doesn’t mean she won’t like ours.”

 

Freddy groaned. “She’s in love with those two. We’re up next, we’re gonna look like idiots.” Billy nudged against him.

 

“Don’t say that,” he chided. The class applauded politely as Lisa and Joy finished, bowing before running back to their seats, looking pleased. Billy stood and held a hand out to Freddy. “Come on.” Freddy sighed and grabbed Billy’s hand. He tugged Freddy to his feet, and leaned close to whisper, “I’ve got an idea.”

 

“Wha—” Freddy started to ask but Billy was already moving to the front of the classroom. Freddy followed and they turned to face the class. He took a deep breath, giving his shoulders a quick shake as Billy introduced their scene.

 

“This is what we call ‘Unfollowing Elizabeth’, a Frankenstein tale,” Billy said. The class murmured and shifted, and Ms. Rawthorne nodded at them to begin, pen poised over paper.

 

They took their starting stance, Freddy pretending to look at a phone and Billy staring at him.

 

“Thirty-three new followers in six hours!” Freddy cried, beaming. He preened, and the class giggled. “I’m so super stoked.”

 

“Why won’t she _like_ my comments?” Billy demanded, fists clenched. He pretended to check a phone in his hand. “She’s online right now, why is she pretending not to see them?” He fisted his hands in his hair and paced away, agitated. Freddy scrolled through his phone, face lighting up with every comment. He paused, eyes clouding over.

 

“Who’s F.M.?” he wondered aloud, peering at his screen. He shrugged and thumbed past. “Thanks, thirsty dude, but I’m just here for fun.”

 

Billy let out a distressed moan. “She’s talking to everyone else but me.” He grit his teeth, a dark look crossing his face. “If I can’t have her, then no one will.” He glared at the phone in his hand. “Especially not you, _Victor_ ,” he spat. He glared at his phone and typed, finishing with a smug smirk.

 

Freddy’s jubilant expression fell from his face. “What?” he asked, frowning. “Who unsubscribed—” he covered his mouth with his hand. “Why am I losing followers?”

 

Billy laughed, a malicious expression on his face. “Try to live _that_ rumour down,” he sneered. He finished typing with a flourish. Freddy staggered, staring down at his phone in shock.

 

“Wha—what’s going on? Where’s everyone going?” He dropped to the chair behind him, pressing a hand to his forehead. “Why are they leaving me?” He wilted in the chair, curling over himself. Billy moved forward, looking worried.

 

“ _I don’t know who is spreading these lies about me_ ,” Billy read from his phone, “ _but they are not true._ _My fans all know who I am as a person…”_ he trailed off, looking pensive. “What have I done?” He pressed a hand over his mouth.

 

Freddy sagged, gasping weakly. “Seventeen followers,” he shook his head. “How did I lose…so many—” he cut off and covered his eyes. A long moment passed, Freddy breathing heavily, Billy pacing. Freddy spoke, as he raised his phone. “Settings…account settings…deactivate account.” He dropped the phone with a dramatic flick of his wrist.

 

Billy gasped, staring with wide eyes at his phone. “Where did she go?” He looked up at Freddy, and rushed over, dropping to his knees beside him. “What have I done?” he whispered. He reached out and touched Freddy’s brow. Freddy frowned, eyes closed. This wasn’t part of the scene. “No,” he heard Billy say. He was suddenly grabbed under the arms and legs and hefted up. “ _No!_ ” Billy cried. “Elizabeth...” Freddy could feel the subtle shaking in Billy’s arms as he carried Freddy to lay on a table at the front of the classroom. He pressed his forehead to Freddy’s. Suddenly he whispered, “Rawthorne is practically swallowing her pen.”

 

“And scene!” Ms. Rawthorne called. Freddy opened his eyes and Billy was stepping away, grinning down at him. He helped him sit up, and Freddy finally registered the applause from the class.

 

“What the hell was that?” Freddy hissed at Billy, managing a fake smile for his classmates as he hopped off the table, tucking his crutch firmly under his arm. Billy shrugged, unperturbed.

 

“Just a bit of improv,” he grinned.

-

-

-

Freddy gaped at the sheet Billy handed him. “This doesn’t say a hundred.” Billy made a show of peering over his shoulder.

 

“Well, that’s a one, followed by two zeroes, so, yes, yes it does say one hundred.” Freddy glared at him suspiciously over the top of the paper.

 

“You didn’t screw around with this?”

 

Billy laughed and dropped to sit on Freddy’s bed. “No, I didn’t screw with it.” He shrugged. “I guess Rawthorne liked it.”

 

“She _never_ gives anyone perfect,” Freddy said, half to himself. He pushed away from his desk, spinning his chair to face Billy. “Why did you add all that stuff?” Billy shrugged, chewing on his thumbnail.

 

“You said she likes tragedies so I thought, make it more tragic.” He grinned. “It paid off, didn’t it?”

 

“Yeah,” Freddy said quietly. Billy frowned.

 

“Why?”

 

Freddy shrugged. “I just, I didn’t think you would care that much about drama. And I mean,” he continued in a rush, “you practically kissed my forehead. That’s going to make you look like a freak.”

 

To his surprise, Billy burst out laughing. “Dude, do you think I care about that?” he exclaimed. “I routinely fly around as a thirty-year-old superhero. That’s weird. Helping my brother out,” he shrugged, “there’s nothing weird about that.”

 

Freddy tried to keep the stupid grin off his face but failed miserably. Billy noticed.

 

“What?” he asked. Freddy shook his head, pressing the back of his wrist to his mouth to hide his dopey look.

 

“Nothing, I just—” _oh go on, Freeman, he just called you his_ brother _, you can be honest_ —“I really like when you call me your brother.” He saw Billy’s cheeks colour, and he turned away from Freddy.

 

“Well, you are,” he muttered. He looked up with a grin. “What are brothers for, anyway?”

 

Freddy considered Billy. With Eugene and Pedro, he had an easy relationship, sure; but not like what he had with Billy. Pedro wasn’t as open as Billy was, and Eugene wasn’t mature enough for Freddy to speak as frankly to him as he did Billy.

 

“I guess this,” Freddy said. Billy smiled at him, and for a moment, all was right with the world.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was more serious in tone and I'm kind of like "ehh" but it's setting up for a lot down the road. I am vomiting plot.  
> If you liked it, let me know why. If you didn't like it, let me know why.  
> Thanks to everyone who reviewed and kudos'd the first chapter. You gave me a body flush. Now pay my doctor's bills for that.  
> Next chapter hopefully will be up by the weekend.  
> Mind the metaphors...


	3. Chapter 3

(iii)

“We can see the superpowered human, known by a rather eclectic mix of names, fly in and—” Kelly Saunders smiled at the video, shaking her head. “Just incredible. A runaway train is a rare thing, and if it weren’t for the Red Cyclone, or ‘Shazam’ as that seems to be the name most widely used, this story could have a much more tragic ending.”

 

“He’s got quite the fanbase,” Ted Rommel said with a little grin. “Just look at those kids surrounding him. That’s what you want to see in a hero.”

 

A loud scoff caught the news anchor’s attention. “Your thoughts, Mr. Ford?” Kelly asked. The screen split in half, showing Rod Ford, city councilman for Philadelphia, sitting in his office, the other half of the screen Kelly and Ted at the news desk.

 

“Well, I would say it’s going a bit far, calling him a quote unquote hero,” Rod said. Kelly laughed lightly.

 

“You don’t agree that someone singlehandedly stopping a runaway train is a heroic deed?”

 

Rod shrugged, his black hair plastered to his head, not a lock out of place. “Of course it is. But what weight does that hold compared to the damage he’s done?”

 

Kelly frowned and Ted chuckled. “What damage are you referencing, councilman?”

 

“Let’s see,” Rod said, settling back in his chair. “Destruction of personal property,” he held up his hand and ticked off the count on his fingers, “disrupting city sponsored events such as the winter carnival, and let’s not forget the debacle with the supposed _abduction_ of a child not even a month ago?” He shrugged, spreading his hands wide. “What do we really know about this man? And where does it end?”

 

“Let’s not forget the robbery at the Fawcett National bank he foiled, saving all thirty-two citizens being held hostage,” Kelly said, brow furrowed. “And that’s just the start of the list of incredible things he’s done for the city so far, all under the radar—"

 

“You know how much the city of Metropolis has spent repairing collateral damage caused by the antics of Superman? Huh? Or Gotham City with the Batman and his weekly villain debacle?” Rod demanded. “A combined _five hundred million_ over the last four years. Half a _billion_ dollars spent fixing or flat-out rebuilding parts of the cities that were caught up in the middle of these costumed loonies and their fights.” Rod leaned forward in his chair, fixing the camera with a hard look. “And what have we seen so far since this ‘Shazam’ character has popped up? The winter carnival disrupted, the Ferris wheel toppling, dozens of innocent bystanders injured while trying to flee.” He shook his head. “And our own William Penn, who stood watch over our city, _his_ city, since 1894, is left without his head. Estimates to repair the head are hovering between two to five million dollars. And who’s going to foot the bill for that? This Shazam fellow? No. The taxpayers are.” He leaned back, slightly red-faced from his rant. “And if this guy sticks around, this is just the beginning.

 

“Superheroes attract supervillains. We’ve seen it in Metropolis, we’ve seen it in Gotham City, and now, he wants us to be next. Well, I say no. For all our sakes.”

 

“But you cannot deny the _good_ he has done,” Kelly said. “If you look at how many people he’s saved, how many dangerous situations he’s gone into—alone, I might add—to save the police from having to put their own lives at risk—”

 

“A thing that they know is part of their job when they’re sworn in.” Rod snorted. “You’re not going to tell me one measly man who can run fast and charge phones with one finger is better than the might of the Philadelphia police department, are you?”

 

“Actually,” Ted said, swinging to face the camera, “Shazam has a long list of abilities. If you’ve seen his training videos—”

 

“Ah, yes, those viral displays of idiotic showboating,” Rod scoffed. “You have to wonder at his mental capacity, posting things like that for all the world to see, like some kind of child—”

 

“I thought it was a good way to introduce himself to the public eye,” Kelly argued. “So many of these super powered humans just burst onto the scene and we’re left with no clue as to where they came from. And he’s shown his array of powers as a way to do good, a way to—”

 

“Like when he nearly blew up the number nine bus and sent it careening off the overpass?” Rod interrupted. “He was showing off, and people got hurt. But instead he was applauded, and for what? For fixing his own mistake? For endangering the lives of everyone on that bus?”

 

“Yes, it was a horrible accident, but—”

 

“Super men make super mistakes,” Rod declared. “if I screw up at work, it means re-sending a mistyped email. If he screws up, it can mean the death of an innocent person.” Kelly remained quiet, jaw tense. Rod plowed on. “He brought his fight with that Sivana nutjob to the middle of a crowded carnival, hundreds of people just trying to live their lives, families out to enjoy themselves, and look how close they came to being hurt, to dying, because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Silence reigned, and Ted shuffled the papers in front of him, looking uncomfortable.

 

The councilman leaned into the camera. “Don’t get me wrong, I can see the appeal in having our very own flashy superhero flying around the city, pulling cats out of trees and helping old ladies cross the street.” Kelly shook her head, visibly annoyed, but said nothing. “But we don’t need him. The benefits do not outweigh the risk. We have trained police officers, we have firefighters, who cause less than a tenth of the collateral damage in three years than this _hero_ does in a few months.” He laid his hands flat on his desk. “We don’t need him.”

 

The TV clicked off. He sighed, glancing at his companion, who shrugged.

 

“It was bound to happen.”

-

-

-

“Billy?”

 

Freddy gasped as he was blasted through the air, his whole body seized up from the harsh burst of lightning coursing through him. He was falling from the water tower, the ground below rushing up to meet him. He couldn’t think, couldn’t fly. He was eye level with the second floor of a warehouse when he was suddenly caught and swung back into the air. He blinked black spots out of his eyes and stared at the blazing lightning bolt that blazed on Billy’s chest.

 

“Freddy!” Billy sounded panicked as he landed on the roof of the warehouse, setting Freddy down, eyes wide as he patted him all over. “What the shit, man? Are you all right? I’m sorry, you just startled me—”

 

“What is this, the old west?” Freddy groaned, arching his back, trying to work the jittery feeling out of his body. “Shoot first, ask questions later?” He stopped when he saw the forlorn expression on Billy’s face, the watery look in his eyes. “Hey, I was kidding,” he said quickly, straightening. “Dude, I’m fine. I just wasn’t expecting _that_.”

 

Billy turned from him, head hanging. “Sorry, Freddy,” he said in a small voice. “Shazam.” Freddy squinted against the brilliant bolt of lightning that erupted from the sky and blinked his eyes open, the smoke clearing to reveal Billy walking to the edge of the roof.

 

“Billy?” Freddy followed him slowly, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. “It’s all right,” he said uncertainly, “I’m not hurt—” he stopped when he heard a small sniffle and saw Billy angrily wipe at his face. “Hey. What’s wrong?”

 

Billy shook his head, dropping to sit on the roof, pulling his knees to his chest. Freddy chewed his lip contemplatively, eyeing his brother. “Shazam.” He stood over Billy, keeping his left leg suspended. Ugh, it was going to be hard to sit—Billy held a hand out without looking at him. Freddy took it gratefully, holding tight as he bent his good leg, getting to his knee, braced against Billy, and thunked backwards. He let go of Billy’s hand and scooted forward to dangle his legs off the roof.

 

Though its only been four months since Billy appeared in his life, Freddy could read him pretty well. He’d always had a knack for that kind of thing. That was why he sat in silence, waiting. He knew Billy was working up to talking, could feel it in the air between them, could see it in the way his brother was fisting his jeans, taking quiet, shallow breaths, the calm before the storm.

 

“I missed someone.”

 

Freddy felt all the air leave his body in a rush. He stared at Billy. “What?”

 

Billy pressed his lips together, trying to still the quiver in his jaw. “I missed someone,” he repeated, even though they both knew Freddy had heard.

 

“Oh,” Freddy breathed. He felt sick.

 

He had come to find Billy after the last—or what they thought had been the last—person was carried out of the burning apartment building. Billy had set the man down next to the ambulance, nodding at him when he sobbed his thanks. Freddy had seen the look on Billy’s face, a tense, shadowed look, and he knew what it meant. It was the same expression he’d had when walking into the house when Sivana was keeping them hostage. Overwhelmed, scared, but determined.

 

“That’s…that really sucks,” Freddy said lamely. Billy scoffed.

 

“Yeah,” he said flatly, “someone died because of me. It _really sucks._ ”

 

“Hey,” Freddy frowned, ignoring the mocking words, “that wasn’t your fault, Billy.”

 

Billy turned away from him, burying his face in his arms. “What would you know?” he muttered. Freddy felt a flash of something in his gut.

 

“I was there, too,” he said. “I was helping people out same as you. Why is it your fault and not mine?”

 

Billy jumped to his feet. “Fine,” he snapped, glaring down at Freddy. “It was your fault too. We both killed someone.” He stomped away, shoulders hunched.

 

“It wasn’t—hey! Billy!” Freddy yelled. “Don’t walk away from me when I can’t come after you.” Billy stopped but didn’t turn, his slight frame outlined against the skyline of the city beyond. Dusk had fallen quickly. They would need to get home soon so Victor and Rosa wouldn’t worry. “Just…sit back down,” he begged. “You can’t walk away from a crippled kid.”

 

To his relief, Billy came back and sat down again, further than before. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do,” he admitted quietly. “How do you—” he cut off, lips trembling, eyes shining— “how do you tell someone you’re sorry you didn’t save their dad or uncle or s-son, when you have the _power_ to…” He covered his face with his hands, and his shoulders shook. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”

 

Freddy shook his head, swallowing past the lump in his own throat. “I don’t know either. It’s not like this has happened before.”

 

“What if it happens again?” Billy cried, lifting his head, tear tracks down his face plain to see. “I can’t save everyone all the time, someone else will die because of _me_ —” he stopped. “I hate this. I hate having these p-powers, I hate having to help people.” He swallowed loudly. “I’m not good enough.”

 

“Dude,” Freddy half-laughed, “this is your _origin_ story. You’re supposed to feel like this.”

 

“What does that mean?” Billy demanded.

 

Freddy choked out a laugh. “I don’t know,” he said, borderline hysterical. It was hard to catch his breath, and he imagined his lungs crackling in unbearable heat, his skin peeling from his face—

 

“Freddy. _Freddy!_ ”

 

He rocketed back to awareness with a sharp slap to the face. He blinked at Billy who knelt in front of him, looking freaked. “Holy shit,” he said to Billy, “we killed someone. We fucking killed someone—!”

 

“Freddy! Calm down, just—” Billy started rubbing rough circles on his back. “You’re okay but holy shit you need to breathe—”

 

“Why the fuck do we have these powers? Why are we the ones supposed to help people?” He looked at Billy wildly. “We’re not even fifteen! Why—” Billy grabbed him in a tight hug, and Freddy tasted the cotton of his shirt. Billy made nonsensical sounds, hands gripping Freddy’s back.

 

“I’m sorry, Freddy,” Billy said, his breath hot on Freddy’s neck. “I’m sorry, I never should have shared this with you—” Freddy shoved him off.

 

“Are you freakin’ _kidding_ me?” He huffed out a laugh. “This is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I mean,” he amended, looking out at the darkening city, “not now it isn’t.”

 

They sat in silence, the cool night air settling over them.

-

-

-

“Freddy? Are you not hungry?” Rosa asked, peering over at his plate, food pushed around but untouched. He shrugged, eyes flicking to Billy’s empty seat. Rosa stood and walked over to him, pressing a cool hand against his forehead. “I hope you’re not getting sick like Billy.”

 

Eugene pushed his chair away from the table. “Don’t breathe on me,” he warned, covering his mouth with his napkin. “I have a test tomorrow that I _cannot_ miss.”

 

“I think I’m just going to go to bed,” Freddy muttered. Rosa eyed him with concern.

 

“If you want,” she said after a moment, bending to kiss the top of his head. “I think Billy is sleeping, so go in quietly, hmm?” Freddy nodded and stood, taking hold of his crutch and managing a small smile for Darla when she blew him a kiss.

 

When he got to his room, he pushed the door open slowly. The lamp on his desk was on, dim light illuminating the homework due yesterday. He glanced at the top bunk. Billy was rolled on his side to face the wall. He couldn’t tell if he was asleep or not. Freddy thought about saying his name, seeing if he was awake, but he just felt so drained, tired in a way he never had been before. The idea of talking made his heart twist, his stomach clench.

 

When he and Billy got home, he’d stood in the front hall for a minute. The cheeriness of the house, the sound of Eugene trying to convince Victor and Rosa that dinner should be postponed until he was finished his level, Darla and Mary reading together in the living room, had been a stark contrast to how he felt: hollow. Billy had immediately told Victor he had thrown up and wasn’t going to eat, and Freddy had watched him climb the stairs, feeling a guilty sense of relief that Billy wasn’t going to be sitting across from him at the table.

 

Freddy grabbed sweatpants and his Wonder Woman shirt from his dresser, sitting on his bed to change. He ignored the desk lamp, leaving it to burn as he settled against his pillows, staring up at the underside of the top bunk.

 

Time crawled by. He could feel the passing of each minute, swore he could feel his hair growing. He tossed and turned as the sky outside darkened to pitch black. He blinked and was in an inferno, Billy disappearing into the flames ahead of him, and he tried to call to him but choked on thick smoke, tried to run but his leg dragged behind him.

 

“Billy,” he croaked, stumbling, “Billy—” he tripped and went down, rolling into fire that enveloped him but did not burn. A girl knocked against him, her hair on fire, and she wailed and rolled into flame. Freddy groped blindly for her, his crutch in his hand poking into the fire, searching. Rough hands on his shoulder made him tense and he swung.

 

“Freddy,” his name was being hissed from within the flames. “Freddy!” He tried to pull back, hands of fire on his face, and he lashed out. He fell. Billy was holding a hand to his face and looking down at him. Freddy grabbed for him desperately, catching the hem of his shirt.

 

“Stay,” he begged, terrified to see Billy turn and disappear into a fiery wall again. A clouded look passed over Billy’s face and he crouched down.

 

“I’m here, Freddy.” He clumsily took Freddy’s reaching hand. “Come on, sit up.” He helped tug Freddy onto his bed, and Freddy grabbed a handful of Billy’s shirt, heart racing, head spinning.

 

“Don’t,” he managed to say. Don’t what, he didn’t know. But he just needed Billy to not.

 

“I won’t,” Billy said, and he covered Freddy’s hand with his own, fingers trembling. “I won’t.” As if he understood Freddy.

 

“The—the girl,” Freddy gasped. “She…she wanted me to stay with her, after I got her out, her mom was in the fire, her face was _m-melting_ —” he cut off, pressing his free hand to his mouth. “I couldn’t leave her, Billy, I couldn’t leave her—”

 

“Of course you couldn’t,” Billy said, his own voice thick. “It’s okay, Freddy, they’re okay now—”

 

Freddy bit back a sob. “No they aren’t, they got hurt, I wasn’t fast enough, and she wanted me to sit with her, and I—” he cut off, ashamed— “I was glad, I didn’t want to go back in, I was so scared—”

 

“I know,” Billy said, and his voice was heavy, aching. “I was, too.”

 

They sat on the bed, clinging to each other. Freddy’s head pounded and he squeezed his eyes shut, breathing deeply. “How did you know,” he said raggedly. “How did you know you missed someone.”

 

Billy’s grip on his hand tightened. “I heard a firefighter,” he whispered. Freddy opened his eyes and looked at his brother. “I h-heard him say there was someone that was missing, the landlord didn’t have them marked off—” his mouth trembled. “Someone was burned alive, because I didn’t look hard enough, and even when I was running it was making the flames spread, I made it worse—” he stopped, lips pressed tight together. “He was right.”

 

“Who?” Freddy half-whispered. “Who was right?”

 

Billy scrubbed one-handed at his face. “That, that city council guy,” he muttered. “What good am I?”

 

Freddy frowned. “You mean that Ford guy?” Billy nodded. “But he’s a fucking idiot. Billy,” Freddy waited until Billy looked at him from the corner of his eye, “we do need you. The whole city needs you.” He frowned. “Is that why you don’t watch tv anymore?” Billy shrugged.

 

“The whole city hates me. I don’t need to be reminded of that all the time.”

 

Freddy shook his head. “Not everyone. There are plenty of people who like you. Don’t you remember everyone at the winter carnival? They were all clapping for you.”

 

“For us,” Billy muttered. Freddy shrugged one shoulder.

 

“Just think. If you hadn’t been there…” he trailed off. A dark look crossed Billy’s face.

 

“If I hadn’t been there, Sivana wouldn’t have been either.”

 

Freddy exhaled sharply. “Real talk? He was insane. I think he was going to go wherever he could to hurt the most people.” He nudged against Billy. “But we beat him, right?”

 

Billy didn’t answer but his fingers tightened around Freddy’s.

 

“Listen,” Freddy said, his voice loud in the silent room, “what if we all went out together?”

 

“What do you mean?” Billy asked listlessly.

 

“I mean,” Freddy said slowly, an idea taking hold, “what if we showed everyone that you aren’t the only one? Only me and you have gone out as _them_ with any regularity since Christmas. No one really knows that there are four others. Just rumours.” He turned to face Billy. “But if we all go out, as a force, as a, a _league_ —”

 

“Oh my god we are not the junior justice league and you need to stop saying that,” Billy muttered, but he almost had a smile at the corner of his mouth. Freddy shrugged.

 

“I’m just saying, the more of us out there, the more people we can help,” Freddy said.

 

“Yeah,” Billy said after a long silence. “But…”

 

“But what?”

 

“It doesn’t change the fact that someone died tonight.”

 

“No,” Freddy exhaled heavily, “no it doesn’t. But what do we do about it?”

 

They looked at each other. For once, Freddy was at a loss for words.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried really hard to understand loss for this chapter.  
> If you liked it, or didn't like it, share with me why, pleasing and thanking you. Two more chapters of Billy carrying Freddy then we get to the Big One. Every chapter from here on out is going to be long. I hope you stick around :))))


	4. Chapter 4

(iv)

**PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS                      APRIL 15 2019**

_More Superpowered Beings in Philadelphia: Friend or Foe?_

**PHILADELPHIA TRIBUNE                            APRIL 19 2019**

_Super Humans Rescue University Students From Dorm Fire_

**THE PUBLIC RECORD                                 APRIL 24 2019**

_Councilman Ford Calls for Legislation of Superheroes, Met With Resistance_

**PHILADELPHIA BULLETIN                           APRIL 24 2019**

_Polls Show 68% of Citizens ‘Feel Safer’ With Heroes in Town_

**THE PHILLY STAR                                      APRIL 26 2019**

_Heroes Sent From Planet Uul To Dominate Earth_

 

 

Billy and Freddy gaped as Darla held out a handful of mountain laurels, beaming at them. “I brought you some flowers!”

 

“Where did you get those from?” Freddy asked, doing an exaggerated spin to look around at their surroundings.

 

“Wissahickon,” Darla smiled. “It’s my favourite park to go to.”

 

“That’s like, five miles from here,” Freddy said faintly. “You weren’t even gone for a minute.”

 

“Is that bad?” Darla asked, looking worried.

 

“No!” Billy was quick to assure her. “No, being very fast is a very good thing.” Freddy nodded beside him.

 

“You’ll be able to help a lot of people being so fast.” Darla clapped her hands together. “We just need to get you used to stopping when you want to instead of five miles later.”

 

Darla nodded. “Sometimes I stop in the middle of the lake and fall in.” Billy and Freddy stared at her.

 

“You stop… _in_ the middle of the lake?” Freddy asked weakly.

 

“You can run on water?” Billy asked.

 

Darla looked between the two of them. “Can’t you?”

-

-

-

Freddy and Billy broke the surface of the water, gasping. They tread water and grinned at each other.

 

“Check!”

-

-

-

“Okay, Darla,” Freddy said, dropping the end of his cape from where he’d been toweling his wet hair dry, “we’re going to set a goal for you. Billy and I will go wait for you _somewhere_ , that’s tbd still, and your goal is to meet us there. Not ten miles past us. We need to make sure you can stop when you’re supposed to.”

 

“I like practicing,” Darla beamed.

 

“Good, because you need a lot of it,” Freddy muttered. Billy smacked the back of his head.

 

“All right, let’s pick the first place…”

 

“Wait a minute,” Billy said, frowning. “How are we going to find her if she ends up going way off course from where she’s supposed to be?” Freddy opened his mouth to speak, but faltered. Darla blinked at him.

 

“Find my iPhone?”

-

-

-

“Wow,” Freddy said, coming in to land next to Darla. “You were only three towns off.” Darla sighed.

 

“I’m sorry, Freddy. I tried really hard to stop but my legs just don’t listen.” Her lower lip trembled.

 

“Hey, hey, don’t cry!” he rushed to comfort her. “You’re doing really good, Darla.”

 

Billy nodded. “He’s right, you’ve already stopped way sooner than you used to.” He glanced around. “We should probably go home soon, make sure we beat Victor and Rosa there.”

 

“Dude, it’s parent teacher night,” Freddy reminded him. “They’re gonna spend an hour with every single teacher and then talk to all the other parents in the cafeteria. We’ve got ages.”

 

“I have homework,” Darla announced. Freddy made a face.

 

“So do I, that doesn’t mean I’m gonna do it.” Darla gasped.

 

“Freddy! You _have_ to. A good superhero would.”

 

Billy snorted and turned away. “All right, let’s do one more,” he spoke over Freddy’s mocking mumble. Freddy took out his phone from the fanny pack he wore to store it in. ( _“What?” he’d demanded at Billy’s look. “The suit doesn’t have pockets!”_ )

 

“All right, Darla, I sent the next place to your phone. We’ll meet you there.” Darla nodded brightly, checking the notification on Billy’s screen ( _“No phone until she’s 12,” Rosa insisted_ ), and tucked the phone back in the top of her boot. (“ _A fanny pack is much more secure,”_ _Freddy had grumbled._ ) She was gone in an instant, the saplings around them bent double in her wake.

 

“Think she’ll get it this time?” Billy asked. Freddy shrugged.

 

“If she doesn’t then maybe I can convince her to stay out later, away from, you know, homework.” Freddy scrolled through his phone. “Got her,” he said, seeing the red blip on the map that was Darla. “Let’s go.”

-

-

-

Freddy and Billy slowed as they approached the small town and went over it, flying towards the dense forest nestled at the base of the Adirondack mountains in New York. “We’re right on top of her,” Freddy told Billy, checking his phone. He zipped it back into his fanny pack and jerked his head towards the ground. “Let’s see if we can spot her.”

 

They landed on the outskirts of the forest, above the town. The late afternoon sun blazed a fierce red. Freddy turned a slow circle and paused. “Well, no Darla but there’s a group of people in tents staring at us.”

 

“What?” Billy turned to look and exchanged a look with Freddy. “Do…do we go talk to them?”

 

“Uh.” Freddy was saved from answering when his phone rang, the display reading _Zaptain America._ He pointed at the phone. “Hey Darla,” he answered. He frowned. “Look up?” He and Billy craned their necks, searching the sky to no avail. “Here you come from wh—” he suddenly smacked Billy’s arm and pointed. Billy followed his finger and saw it: a small speck speeding down the side of the mountain, easily seen against the snow-covered mountain face.

 

“She went up the mountain?” Billy asked.

 

“Dude, she was supposed to meet us in the middle of town. She’s like, two seconds past that—” Darla stopped in front of them and Freddy grinned at her. “Nearly perfect.”

 

“Yay,” Darla said, bouncing once in place.

 

“Darla,” Billy said suddenly, “you just stopped right in front of us.”

 

Freddy gasped hugely. “Darla!” he cried. He dimly registered a _whumph_ , and only barely glanced around, easily dismissing it, and grinned at Darla. “You did it!”

 

“Oh my gosh! I did it, I just did it! I stopped right in front of you like I wanted to!” she cheered. She pulled Freddy and Billy both towards her. A sharp _crack!_ echoed around them. Billy leaned away, head raised warily.

 

“What was that?”

 

Freddy frowned, staring down at the town. “Was it a car accident or—”

 

“Oh crap,” Billy breathed next to him, and took off.

 

“Billy, wh—oh crap,” Freddy echoed. He watched as the top of the mountain slid off, a sheet of white falling deceptively slow. “Are you kidding me is that an avalanche?”

 

“Freddy,” Darla sounded scared. “Those people on the mountain—” Freddy’s eyes snapped to the scattered tents at the edge of the forest. He gulped.

 

“Darla, don’t hold back.”

-

-

-

Freddy laughed wildly. “It worked! Oh my _god_ it worked. Billy!” His brother gave him an exhausted look.

 

“How…do you have _air_ ,” he panted.

 

_“We’re going to get on this side of it and blow it into the forest!”_ _Billy yelled. Freddy stared at him._

_“We’re going to_ what _—”_

_“Darla! We need you!” Billy waved Freddy closer. “Take as deep a breath as you can, and just blow. If we can send it into the forest, the trees should slow it down.”_

_“Okay,” Freddy said, voice shaking, watching the racing snow heading straight for the town full of flimsy humans. “Okay, just blow an avalanche off course, no problem—” he inhaled deeply, spread out from Billy, Darla on the ground below them, and_ blew.

 

It worked.

-

-

-

**PHILADELPHIA BULLETIN                           MAY 2 2019**

_Terror With Inadvertent Avalanche Caused By Super_

**THE PHILADELPHIA RECORD                      MAY 2 2019**

_Minor Injuries Reported in Adirondack Avalanche_

**PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS                      MAY 2 2019**

_Ford Calls for Accountability in Superpowered Avalanche_

**THE PHILLY STAR                                      MAY 2 2019**

_Avalanche to Uul: Begin Attack! The REAL Reason They Triggered the Avalanche_

_“—and the reason behind the avalanche remains unknown,”_ Ford finished, his satisfaction evident over the airwaves. This was exactly what he’d wanted to happen, something to sway the public’s mind about the heroes in Philadelphia.

 

_“Are you trying to suggest that the trigger of the avalanche was anything but an accident?”_ The show’s host, Dave Saunders, was incredulous. _“There was no sinister reason behind it, it was an accident. And they managed to divert the snow from burying the town by_ breathing _at it, I haven’t seen that kind of lung power since Freddie Mercury.”_

 

_“Yes, they saved the day, from themselves. Why don’t we just give them all the key to the city_?” Ford scoffed.

_“You know, I’d be interested to hear what some callers have to say about this. Hi, you’re on the air.”_

 

_“Yeah, uh, I just wanted to say that I agree with Mr. Ford completely, they caused that avalanche and almost killed all those people, they can’t be allowed to do that—”_

 

_“Interesting,”_ Dave said _, “although I don’t think anyone_ allowed _them to do it. Next, we have George from Philly, go ahead, George.”_

 

_“Thanks, Dave. I have to say, I think what these people are doing is incredible, but they need to learn from this accident, and be more mindful in the future.”_

 

_“Thank you, George, I think we can agree with the need for them to be careful. Hey, you’re on.”_

 

_“These f-freaks almost killed innocent people, and you want to waste time trying to defend them? My niece almost died in that avalanche, and what would we have been told, huh? ‘Sorry but someone ran up a mountain and kicked all the snow loose’?”_

 

“ _How is your niece doing now, sir?”_ Ford asked quickly.

 

_“She’s being treated in the hospital, Mr. Ford.”_

 

_“I hope she recovers soon and can go home.”_

 

The man’s thanks was cut off and Dave spoke. _“Very sorry to hear about your niece, yes, and to anyone who was personally affected by this, we hope that all of them have a quick recovery.”_ He heaved a sigh. _“All right, with this last minute, Councilman, what would you like to say?”_

 

Ford spoke right into the microphone _. “I would like to urge my fellow citizens not to turn their back on their police force, the men and women who have sworn to uphold the law and order in our city. I want to tell you not to be dazzled by flashy capes and over-the-top theatrics. And I need to remind you that we have always gotten along before this ‘Shazam’ person and his flunkies. Say ‘no’ to superheroes.”_

 

_“Harsh, but not totally unwarranted_ ,” Dave noted. _“We’re out of time, thanks to Councilman Ford for coming out to talk with us, stay tuned for traffic…”_

 

He lowered the radio’s volume and stood in contemplative silence for a minute. There was a short sigh from behind him.

 

“It got bad faster than I thought.”

-

-

-

Freddy felt his heart sink with every newscast he skipped over that had a similar banner to the other stations.

_Superhero Menace_

_Ford: Say No To Superheroes_

_Time to Say Goodbye to Shazam?_

“Okay, so everyone hates us, that’s good to know,” he nodded to himself. Mary shook her head, staring at the tv.

 

“No, they don’t. They’re just scared right now.”

 

“Right. Scared of the big, murdery superheroes—” he winced when Mary punched his arm.

 

“How are we going to fix this?” Eugene asked, looking worried. “Even if it was an accident, it was still Darla’s fault—”

 

“ _No_ , it wasn’t her fault,” Billy snapped. He pushed off the bookshelf he had been leaning against and stormed from the room. They watched him go.

 

“Then whose fault was it?” Eugene asked again.

 

“Eugene,” Mary shook her head at him. “Just, let’s not worry about that right now, all right?”

 

Freddy rubbed his forehead. He felt queasy, like he had sucked back a triple chocolate milkshake and then rolled down a hill. He could still hear that creepy _whumph_ of snow falling, the crack that echoed throughout the mountain. He could still see the sheet of snow tumble and fall, rolling and sliding, Darla and Billy scooping up people left and right and bringing them into town, but nowhere was far enough, because the snow kept coming—

 

_Freddy saw a couple on a snowmobile get swept up in the rushing snow and he dove towards them. The woman reached up with one hand, the other fisted in the man’s jacket, and their fingers brushed just as a tidal wave of snow overtook them and they were buried._

_“No!” Freddy flung himself into the roaring, tumbling snow, and was blind, deaf, dumb, mute. He could fight his way out but he couldn’t find them, couldn’t help them—_

_There! A flash of red, a pair of boots, and Freddy pushed through and_ reached _, and he had two armfuls of people and now he just had to find his way out. The snow to his left was falling away rapidly and he was being pulled towards it, and he tightened his grip on the couple and pushed forward, hoping they weren’t about to tumble off a cliff or something stupid when a hand plunged down and grabbed Freddy by the front of the suit. He was yanked forward and broke free of the snow, hands tightening around the people in his arms. He was lifted and flown down the rest of the mountain to drop lightly to his feet in the middle of town. Billy landed right behind him and paramedics were rushing a gurney over._

_Billy grabbed Freddy’s shoulder in a tight grip. “I have an idea.”_

-

-

-

“Freddy?” He snapped back to the present, saw his siblings staring at him, and stood up.

 

“I’m going to bed,” he muttered. Pedro gave him a look but said nothing. Good ol’ Pedro, keeping his mouth shut. Freddy left the living room and made for the stairs. He was headed for his room when soft voices stopped him in the hall, and he stopped. The door to Darla’s room was half open, and he could hear Billy inside, voice soothing.

 

“—it was a mistake, and we’re going to fix it, okay?”

 

“N-no,” Darla sobbed, and Freddy felt his heart clench. “I almost hurt people, I collapsed a mountain—” Freddy could see in her room when he turned his head just so, and saw Darla pressed against Billy, small arms wrapped around his waist while he stroked her head.

 

“It’s okay to be scared,” he heard Billy say. “But we can fix it, I promise. You can do a lot of good when you’re you and when you’re her, there’s no—”

 

“No!” Darla cried, pulling back. “I’m never doing it again. I don’t ever want to be her again.” Freddy sighed to himself and continued to his room. He missed the thoughtful look on Billy’s face, didn’t hear his answer.

 

“That might be a good idea.”

-

-

-

“What.” Freddy glared at Billy who stood steadily, meeting Freddy’s gaze unflinchingly.

 

“I don’t want any of you using your powers anymore,” Billy repeated. The room exploded.

 

“That’s not _fair_ —”

 

“We’ve been helping a lot of people!”

 

“I don’t care!” Billy yelled, fists at his sides. “You saw what happened with Darla, and now she won’t even come out of her room because of what’s being said about her. It’s only going to happen to all of you, too.”

 

“There are plenty of people who want us around,” Mary pointed out. “We have helped a lot of people in these last few months. I think that we should take some time and—"

 

“So do you still get to use them?” Freddy demanded. “Just you and not us? Why? You’re the reason people started hating us in the first pl—”

 

“ _Freddy_ ,” Mary hissed, looking shocked. Freddy felt a wave of guilt rush over him when he saw the look on Billy’s face.

 

  
“I…I’m sorry, Billy, I didn’t mean that—” Billy shook his head. They all started when a harsh, buzzing tone sounded. Eugene pulled his phone out and his eyes went wide.

 

“Guys?” he said, looking up. He turned his phone and held it out to show them the shaky footage of a car being thrown across the street by what looked like—

 

“Is that Godzilla?” Freddy squeaked.

-

-

-

“Holy shit! Dude, you almost got nailed by his tail!” Freddy yelled as Billy banked sharply to the left to avoid the thrashing spiked appendage. Billy turned himself around midflight and raised his hands, sending bolts of lightning rippling over the creature’s scaly body. The beast roared and swung clawed hands, ripping the side of a building clear off.

 

“We have to lead it out of the city!” Billy shouted. Pedro ran up behind the monster and broke a streetlamp over its head. It turned and growled low in its throat, red eyes flashing as it started to close in on Pedro.

 

“Hey ugly!” Mary swooped in front of it, landing a solid kick across its short snout. It screeched and clawed at the air, trying to grab her but Mary danced out of reach. She let it get close and then burst ahead. It started to follow her.

 

“Lead it to the river!” Billy shouted. The four of them got ahead of the beast and taunted it, keeping it focused on them, distracted from the city around it. Freddy cast a worried look at the bloody rip through the back of Billy’s suit, where a long claw had gotten too close. The monster was huge, twenty feet tall and as wide as a house, but it could strike with surprising speed. The tail was lethal; almost as long as the monster was tall, lined with black spikes, hard-scaled things that had knocked Pedro through the front of a shop when it caught him in the stomach.

 

The Schuykill river was in sight, thick forest lining the bank on either side. Billy flew close to Freddy and yelled in his ear. “If we can get it in the river, we can blast it.”

 

“But your lightning is barely doing anything to it!” Freddy cried. He hated feeling scared like this, uncertain. If they couldn’t stop this creature, who would? He was surprised to see the grin on Billy’s face.

 

“Water’s a great conductor,” he said, and split away, close to the treetops as the monster crashed through the forest. Pedro had fallen back, staying unnoticed by the creature, ready to push it to the river if it tried to turn around. Freddy flew right in front of it.

 

“Hey, so have you heard of Godzilla? I mean, is that where your aesthetic is coming from? Because I’m pretty sure it’s copyrighted—” he zipped out of the way of an angry swipe of an arm—“and _man,_ do we need to talk about your dental health. Your breath smells worse than a puked-up burrito.” It roared and lunged, and suddenly Mary was grabbing Freddy by the arm and hauling him up, but he still felt the sharp claw rip down his leg. He cried out, and through the haze of pain saw Pedro throw himself at the creature’s legs, toppling it forward into the river. It crashed forward, stumbling but righting itself, its lower half completely submerged. The hair on the back of Freddy’s neck stood on end, and he looked over and saw Billy raising his arms.

 

He unleashed a blazing current of lightning at the creature. It enveloped the beast, and it roared, dragging its claws across its face and body, trying to pull the lightning off, thrashing in the water. Waves of charged water were lapping up onto the bank, and he saw Pedro hurry back from the water’s edge. The creature arched its back and screeched and seized up, the relentless current taking its toll. Freddy could see the strain on Billy’s face but he kept going, arms shaking until the creature staggered and fell, dropping face-first into the river. Its tail twitched, popping above the surface of the water spasmodically.

 

Billy lowered his arms and his shoulders sagged. He looked over at Freddy and Mary, and managed a weak grin.

 

“So how long ‘til its safe to go swimming again?”

-

-

-

Freddy rubbed at his leg when it twinged. Victor noticed and looked at him questioningly.

 

“Is your leg bothering you, Freddy?” Billy’s head whipped up from across the table. Freddy shook his head quickly.

 

“No, I mean, no more than usual,” he told Victor but kept his eyes on Billy, to reassure him _I’m all right, don’t worry_. The thing about getting injured when he was his superpowered alter ego was that while the injuries didn’t disappear when he changed back to his regular self, they were felt on a much smaller scale. The gash the creature had torn open in Freddy’s leg was merely an angry scratch when he reverted back to himself. Much the same for Billy’s own clawed back; he sat gingerly, careful not to lean against his chair back, but instead of a deep wound the skin was a raw red.

 

“So!” Mary said to get Rosa and Victor to stop watching Freddy, “tell us more about the conference. I can’t believe they’re paying for you to go all the way to Hawaii for it.”

 

Victor beamed at his wife, raising his wine glass. “Yes dear, I would also like to hear again how your work has won _me_ an all-expenses paid trip to the Big Island.”

 

Rosa laughed, ripping a piece of bread apart and dipping the crust in the sauce left on her plate. “You won’t just be on the beach the whole trip. You at least have to listen to my speech.”

 

“You think I would miss my wife’s keynote address in front of a thousand people?” Victor tapped his chin in thought. “Although it depends if it’s at the same time as the dolphin diving…”

 

“Freddy, would you smack him on the back of the head for me?” Rosa asked, giving Victor a mock glare. She smiled at Mary over the kid’s giggles. “Well, we leave next Thursday morning, an hour before the crack of dawn, to drive to the airport to sit on a plane for more than eight hours to be dropped in paradise, where I will immediately throw up because the next day I have to speak to one thousand workers of the foster care community…” she trailed off, and swallowed.

 

“You’ll do a great job, Mom,” Darla said, smiling up at her. “You’re always good at yelling for us in the playground, and there’s a ton of people there.”

 

Victor burst out laughing and Freddy snorted, fighting back a grin of his own. Darla had been feeling better the last few days, had stopped crying over what happened in New York, and Freddy knew it was because Billy had told her she didn’t have to use her Shazam powers ever again. An uncomfortable feeling stirred in his gut as he remembered their unfinished conversation. Billy didn’t want any of them using their powers anymore. Freddy looked down at his leg, a grimace twisting his face. It would mean not walking freely anymore, like everyone else. No more flying through the air, feeling impossibly light swooping over the city, trailing after flocks of birds, and sometimes hurrying away from them when they turned and tried to attack them.

 

Two days ago they faced a monster, and the city was divided on the heroes.

 

The host of the radio talk show ‘Less Pandering with Dave Saunders’ had praised their quick thinking and pointed out their attempt to divert the creature from the city.

 

_“This wasn’t a criminal mastermind looking for revenge on Shazam, this was a mindless beast hellbent on destruction. It would have happened in any city it had come upon, and you can bet on that, Mr. Ford.”_

**PHILADELPHIA CHRONICLE                        MAY 7 2019**

_Questions Remain On Origin of Creature That Terrorized City_

**PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS                      MAY 7 2019**

_Supporters of Heroes Say ‘All Would Be Lost’ Without Them Re: Monster Attack_

**THE PHILLY STAR                                      MAY 7 2019**

_Exclusive: Beast is Jilted Fiancee of Shazam, Looking for Revenge—and LOVE_

“Freddy?” He looked up from his pasta. Rosa smiled at him. “You’re pretty lost in thought.” He shrugged one shoulder and gave her a half-hearted grin.

 

“Just…thinking about my homework.” Victor pressed a hand to his forehead.

 

“Well, he’s not hot,” he said, brow furrowed. Freddy rolled his eyes and leaned away.

 

“What? I can be studious.”

-

-

-

Billy’s face was set, and Freddy knew what he was going to say. He looked around at all of them minus Darla, sitting on the couch and armchairs in the living room. “I don’t think any of us should use our powers again.”

 

Freddy glared at him. “You’re just saying that cause—” he cut off, and stared at Billy. “Wait. Did you say _any_ of us?” Billy nodded. “Including you?”

 

“Yes, Freddy,” he huffed, looking annoyed. “Including me.”

 

“Billy,” Mary said quietly, “we did a good thing last week. If we hadn’t been there to help—”

 

“We still don’t know where that thing came from,” Billy reminded her. “But it didn’t just pop out of the ground. Everyone who was there when it started said there was a flash of light, and what they thought was an earthquake, and then it was running down the street.” He shook his head. “Someone sent it here.”

 

“Or it was sentient enough to build itself an inter-dimensional portal, or a realm-hopping teleportation device and sent itself here,” Freddy couldn’t help to add. “What?” he asked defensively when he saw the looks his siblings gave him. “I read a lot of comics.”

 

“Philadelphia can’t become the next Metropolis,” Billy said. Freddy frowned.

 

“Now you’re just copying what that asshole Ford says.”

 

“Because it’s true!” Billy snapped. He glanced out the front window to where Victor and Rosa were washing the van and lowered his voice. “Did you even read the articles, huh? Did you see how much it’s going to cost the city to fix the damage? Did you see how badly some people got hurt?”

 

“And it would have been worse without us!” Freddy hissed. He stood and limped over to Billy. “Why can’t you understand that maybe we can do a good job, even if it means making mistakes?”

 

“What about when people die,” Billy asked quietly, “or get left behind because of a mistake we made?” Freddy’s throat tightened, remembering the man in the apartment fire. “Freddy,” Billy said, looking him in the eye, “we need to stop.”

 

“I agree.” They both turned to face Eugene, sitting straight on the couch. “I think that we need to let the police handle things like they always have.”

 

“What if they can’t?” Mary asked, brow furrowed. Outside, Rosa shrieked when she was sprayed in the face with the hose, and retaliated by throwing a soap heavy sponge at Victor. Eugene shrugged.

 

“They call in the army. Or Superman.” He stood up, hands on his hips. “Look, I want to help people too, but we don’t know what we’re doing.” He looked at Billy. “I’m done.” Eugene left the room. Pedro stood up as well.

 

“I just liked the muscles,” he said, and followed Eugene. Mary threw her hands up in the air, staring after her brothers.

 

“I don’t believe it,” she muttered, looking forlorn. She turned to Billy. “I think this is a mistake. And if I see someone about to step in front of a bus, I’m _going_ to save them. But,” she walked over to Billy, and put her hands on his shoulders, “if the rest of my family is going through with this, I will too.” She pulled Billy into a short hug and left, shoulders drooping.

 

Billy and Freddy looked at each other. “I know how much it means to you,” Billy said, looking at Freddy’s leg, “but…”

 

“But what?”

 

Billy turned from him. “I’m scared.”

 

Freddy frowned. “Of what?”

 

“Of you guys getting hurt,” he mumbled. “I feel like…it’s only going to get worse. We barely beat that monster last week, and it made me think, what’s next? What if I can’t—” he cut off and shook his head, then gave Freddy a small smile. “If my family staying safe means I give up my sparkle fingers, too, then I’ll do it.”

 

Freddy grinned at him. “And if keeping my handicapped parking spot means giving up my cape, I’ll do it.” Billy snorted and shoved him lightly, then suddenly pulled Freddy close, hugging him tightly.

 

“Thanks Freddy. You’re a good brother.”

 

Freddy smiled into Billy’s shoulder. “I know.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) I Googled American and Philadelphia geography so suspend your belief at any point you go "uh uh doesn't work."  
> 2) This fic is going to follow comic canon in terms of each sibling only having one power while Billy and Mary have all six (Freddy is flight, Darla is speed, Eugene is lightning and Pedro is strength) but it's 100% open to my interpretation soo  
> 3) I leave Thursday for six days but will be bringing my laptop so hopefully the fifth chapter will be posted before Tuesday.

**Author's Note:**

> This will be six chapters f i r m.   
> The whole thing was going to be light-hearted but then *lightbulbs of angst-tunities* went off.  
> If you liked it, let me know. If you didn't like it, let me know.  
> Hoping to update this every five days.  
> See you next chapter and until then mind your p's and q's.


End file.
